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Song Post: The Sinking of the Deepwater Horizon

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In honor of the 2nd anniversary of the Great BP Oil Slick of 2010, here’s a version of my song “The Sinking of the Deepwater Horizon.”

This one is a rewrite that I posted last year. You can read the description of it here. Or go listen to the original version and read about it here.

Also, did you catch me doing a special Talkin’ Headline Blues on WBEZ this morning? No? Well, you can listen and read about the radio spot here. There’s also a video of the entire song.

I’ll record and post the live radio version on Monday next week. It’s number 77, for those keeping count.

And, please don’t forget to go check out the Poor Elvis Kickstarter project. We could really use your support getting our new 7-inch vinyl record pressed and taken out on tour in June. You get some fantastic rewards for donating.

Thanks for listening and helping us make some music!

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The Sinking of the Deepwater Horizon

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Protest Week

So, here’s the first song in honor of National Protest Week. This is a new one that I finished on Friday last week. I’ve had the chorus running around through my head for a few months now. I picked it up from the old Woody tune The Sinking of the Reuben James. It’s a song I’ve really always loved and I couldn’t quite understand why until I sat down and went about learning the guitar parts a few weeks back. Turns out it’s just an adaptation of the Carter Family’s Wildwood Flower, which is another really great song and probably one everyone knows, or should know, on guitar. Anyway, this new song kinda fell into place over the next couple weeks pretty easily. It’s called The Sinking of the Deepwater Horizon. It’s what you’d call a current-topical-protest-song, I guess.

I really struggled in the beginning with this one because writing a good protest song is really hard. I’d say 99% of them get up there on a high-horse and don’t ever come down. They preach and they yell and they don’t say very much. The first few drafts of mine were exactly like that and lots of other songs I’ve written are exactly like that (some of which I’ll post this week in honor of National Protest Week).

So, this song (hopefully) does not tell you what you oughta think or believe or be fighting. I think it just states some facts and then puts the bulls-eye right squarely where it oughta be placed.

Okay, that’s enough talking. Listen to this first installment of my protest songs in honor of National Protest Week and let me know what ya think.